Where does “увы” come from?

увы (Russian) comes from Proto-Indo-European wai — oh!; woe!.

увы (Russian): alas!

Definitions

  1. alas!

Ancestry of “увы”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Indo-Europeanwaioh!; woe!
Every word from Proto-Indo-European wai